Volleyball Protester Freed On Bail

An Iranian-British woman, from west London, jailed for trying to attend a men's volleyball game in Iran has been released on bail.

25-year-old Ghoncheh Ghavami was found guilty last month of "propagating against the ruling system" and received the custodial sentence.

She was detained in June at a Tehran stadium after trying to attend a men's volleyball match between Iran and Italy.

Her brother, Iman Ghavami, told the Press Association: "She has been bailed until her court appeal, when she hopes to be vindicated.

"She was bailed for £20,000 and now wants to spend time with her family."

Ms Ghavami, from Shepherd's Bush, was taking part in a protest against a ban on women in Iran attending sporting events in the company of men in public stadiums when she was arrested.

Iran banned women from volleyball games in 2012, extending a long-standing ban on football matches.

A post this evening on a Facebook page set up by Ms Ghavami's family said: "Ghoncheh returned home from prison. We picked her up at 3pm from Qarchak prison.

"She is bailed out till her court of appeal. We thank all of you that stayed with us and I hope the court accept the complete innocence of my daughter. Thank god."

Her mother, Susan Moshtaghian, wrote yesterday that Ms Ghavami had been sentenced to one year in prison.

In an emotional message, she said: "Your dad was shown the verdict today. After all these going back and forth and all the troubles we were given in the past month, they finally sentenced you to one year for a crime you never committed.

"I cannot believe one year imprisonment for volleyball protest which they said had nothing to do with your charges.

More than 728,000 supporters signed an online petition asking for Ms Ghavami to be released.

Mr Ghavami said that his sister's health had deteriorated due to hunger strikes she carried out while in prison.

On October 1 she went on "wet" hunger strike - refusing all food but taking liquid - for 14 days, in protest at the conditions of her detention.

Ms Ghavami, a graduate of the University of London's School of African and Oriental Studies from Shepherd's Bush in west London, was described by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.